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Bridgeport's last power-play goal, in Saturday's game at St. John's, came straight off a faceoff win, Jeremy Colliton to Matt Donovan, to beat the second-period buzzer. Impressive, but rare.

The two before that were Ty Wishart shots from the point that hit Justin DiBenedetto in front, two of his seven goals.

"That's pretty much the basics of the power play," forward Tim Wallace said. "You've got to establish shots and have somebody at the front of the net to take away the goalie's eyes."

Like the rest of the team, the power play includes several young players getting adjusted to the AHL.

"At least the first couple of weeks, it can be a little difficult," said Wallace, one of the veterans. "We're getting used to each other."

They're also getting used to a coach in his first season running an AHL bench, and Boguniecki is a first-year AHL coach, too; the only holdover on the staff was assistant Matt Bertani.

But after three weeks, it's getting toward the time when they have to be comfortable with each other and with the system, and to produce, whether that's goals directly from the power play or momentum that carries over to even strength.

"It's seven games," Thompson said, "not 72."

The team gets its first extended homestand the next two weeks, including Friday against Worcester and Saturday against Providence.